All I Want - A Brandon and Callie Story
by landofthesnakes
Summary: She didn't think he saw her in that hospital hallway. Maybe it was the best thing to happen to them, maybe it was the worst.
1. Chapter 1

"All I want is nothing more

To hear you knocking at my door

'Cause if I could see your face once more

I could die a happy man I'm sure"

Thursday nights were family nights in the Foster house. Thats the way it's always been and that's the way it will always be. I, unfortunately, was no exception. After asking Stef and Lena if I could visit this old record store in the city with Wyatt after dinner, I was lectured on the importance of family. _What a joke. _

I had only been here a month and a half and I guess you could say I was happy. I had Jude (my only real family left) with me and we were both safe from those who made our pasts a living hell. Mariana and Jesus recently took it upon themselves to teach Jude things he was never taught in other homes. Jesus was teaching him to ride a bike, hoping one day he could teach him to longboard with him. Mariana was teaching him all the new styles to wear to school. I think Mariana's help was more beneficial for herself, however. She now had two other siblings to watch out for - her reputation even more at stake. Lena and Stef were good 'moms'...if I even had the right to call them that. Sometimes, when they walked away after we had a conversation, I will call them mom, just to see how it fits. I think I'm working up to the idea. Although this is just a temporary ordeal, it's still nice to believe that maybe I can stay here until I turn 18. Only a couple more years. Brandon was nice too. I always saw him ruffling Jude's hair when he walked by or giving him an extra slice of pie even though Lena said he could only have one. He was teaching me how to play the guitar better too. I was just a beginner when I moved into this house but I've been seeing improvement everyday.

_I guess I could stomach one night of 'family fun.'_

I sat down on the living room couch in between Jude and Brandon. _I never really noticed the way Brandon's hair...never mind push that thought away. _Tonight's family activity was a game of charades. _Great._

We split up into three teams. Jesus and Mariana. Lena and Jude. Brandon and Me. Stef was the 'Charades Referee' as she put it. It was the first night back from the hospital so she was just trying to relax anyway. First up was Jesus. While Jesus laid still on the ground the only things moving were his legs in an up and down movement, I took out my phone to send a text.

**Couldn't make it out. See you at school tomorrow, maybe we can leave campus for lunch?**

"They're going to take that away if they see you with that you know." I looked up to see Brandon smirking at me. I laughed at him, noticing the phone in his hand too. His background photo was of him and Talya at some breakfast place. He never could change it, even after they got into a fight. I stopped laughing as a response came from Wyatt.

**Whatever.**

His response was cruel and short. Things were finally okay with us again and he was making things difficult. After he told me to go for Brandon and I saw him with Talya, I went back to Wyatt. I told him Brandon wasn't the one I wanted. I wanted Wyatt. _I wanted Brandon. _

"I'll be right back, I'm gonna go grab a water." Everyone waved me off and I went to the kitchen. I fell into one of the barstools and put my forehead on the counter. The touch was cool and it was a wake up call. Suddenly, I heard fingers tapping on the counter.

"I think we should talk you know." Brandon said this as if it was no big deal. What could he possibly have to talk to me about. _I could watch him talk all damn day...stop that Callie he is your brother!_

"What is there to talk about?" I held my glass under the faucet and noticed my hands were shaking. Why was this happening to me? What kind of power did he have over me?

"I saw you at the hospital, in the hallway. You looked like you were going to come over and talk to me but Talya wouldn't let me leave, she was asking too many questions about my mom."

"Oh, yea I wanted to tell you something but I remembered that you were with Talya so I..." My mouth snapped shut. I closed my eyes and prayed for some type of miracle. Maybe I didn't really just say that or maybe I will open my eyes and a time machine will be in the corner. I opened my eyes and with luck never on my side, he sat beside me fiddling with his hands.

"Why would it matter if I was with Tayla or not?" You could hear the shakiness in his voice. _That shakiness was cute._

"Uh..." I couldn't think of anything to say, "Never mind, let's get back to game night. I grabbed his arm and led him back to the living room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow! Thanks a ton for all the reviews guys...it means so much! Let me know if there is anything that I can fix or if you guys want something specific to happen. I am always open to new ideas and suggestions! Also, I start every chapter with a different song lyric so if there is a certain line you would like me to you please leave a comment I would love to do it for you! Have a good one! xx.**

"From this place on the mantle my heart was taken down  
Scattered in a thousand little pieces on the ground  
And out below the streetlamp like an orphan with a halo  
Darlin' do not fear what you don't really know"

We sat back down on the couch and my knee bumped into hers. This sent the chills that were running up my arm from her grabbing hold of me down to my knee. This was getting out of hand. I couldn't even talk to her for more than five minutes without her running off. And from the looks of it, things with Wyatt are going strong. I never was very lucky.

I should have just went after her in the hospital two days ago. I just wasn't thinking straight. After seeing my dad drinking during mom's surgery and coming to terms with Callie and Wyatt, I just wasn't thinking. Then I saw her and I was trying to act cool. You know...pretend that my bones weren't ready to jump out of my skin seeing her run towards me.

Then just like that Talya was running up to me and hugging me. She was asking me how my mom was doing and how long she would have to stay in the ICU. When I turned to look back for Callie, she was gone. _Even with her gone for that split second in that hallway, I missed her._

I must have lost myself in thought because next thing I knew, Callie was shaking me back to reality. Everyone except Callie were making their way up the stairs for the night.

"Are you ok?" Her voice was so soft and even when she tried to hide it you could hear the concern in her voice.

"Yea I'm okay, just a flashback that's all." I was such a fool. My hands were shaking almost as bad as my voice. I wanted to just say something, anything really, that would make this more comfortable. "I was going to come after you."

_I may have just made this worse._

I thought I saw a hint of a smile but if she did it came and went too quickly. In the silence, I replayed my new song I had been writing on the piano in my head. One, two, three times. It was my song for Callie.

"Wyatt and I had just broken up and I was coming to see you because I thought that maybe..." She drifted off quietly. I gave her a toothy grin and nudged her with my elbow to go on. She pushed a piece of her hair behind her ear before she continued, "I thought that maybe you weren't with Talya and I thought that maybe I could come talk to you about my feelings because some are dark and twisted but others make me happy and make me feel like a kid again and I guess part of me just wanted to share some with you."

I watched her closely. I really, really looked at her. She was avoiding all eye contact with me. "I have some time. Want to go upstairs to my room and talk? We could be alone."

I saw her push back a bit. It was barely noticeable but I saw it. _You're pushing her into trusting you too fast Brandon, you know you need to take things slow. _"I'm sorry, Callie. I don't want to push you into anything, I'm not like that. We can stay here and talk if you want."

The words just fell out of my mouth before I saw her stand and walk away. She was just walking out of the room but I'm pretty sure it hurt just the same as if she was walking out of my life.


	3. Chapter 3

"The back of your eyes look like my mother's

When we talk you're like my brother

Where we gonna go from here"

I know it's bad of me to even think this but it's times like these where I'm glad no one ever taught me how to use make up. If I wore make up, it surely would have been streaming down my face at this point. I paced back and forth in the bathroom trying to clear my head. I had the shower going so no one would bother me. I just needed some alone time. After what felt like an hour, I shut the steaming water off and left the bathroom.

Walking back to Mariana's room, I noticed Brandon's door was wide open. I noticed the blanket and pillow meshed together in the corner. I noticed the pictures of him and Talya crumbled on the nightstand. I noticed the keyboard and the music sheets spread across the floor. For someone who had his life so together, his room sure was a mess.

I'm not sure what came over me and why I suddenly had this burst of confidence, but I went into his room, shut the door behind me and fell onto his bed. Everything smelled like him and I smiled like an idiot. I wonder why he hasn't come upstairs yet I left him so long ago.

Suddenly, the door opened and I watched as Brandon walked in looking at the ground. He closed the door and took his shirt off. I saw more than I had bargained for when I first entered the room. I sat up and coughed slightly to tell him I was there. Brandon whipped his head up and you could see the confusion and embarrassment in his expression.

"Oh Callie, I'm sorry, I didn't know you were in here." He put his shirt back on. _Damn, I wish he would just keep it off. No, no. It's a good thing he put it back on. _

I didn't respond to his apology, I just made room for him to sit beside me on the bed. I patted the empty space and watched him walk across the room and take the seat.

I looked at all four cream colored walls. Flashbacks were running through my mind of all the events that led us to here. Just three days ago, Brandon was pushing my hair behind my ear. Just two days ago, I was running to tell him how I feel. I was with Wyatt. He was with Talya. I fell back on the bed.

It only took a few seconds before he was laying beside me and putting my head on his chest. It felt warm. The rise and fall of his chest was comforting. _This must be what home feels like. _"I'm not with Tayla."

I wasn't sure how to respond to this. "I'm not with Wyatt." I lifted my head to see his face. He was smiling but his eyes were closed. _I loved that face_. "Why is there a picture of you two on your phone?" I tried to make this as nonchalant as possible but I still sounded like a jealous girlfriend.

"Oh this?" He took out the phone and held it above our heads to see the picture. "I just like this picture of me thats all. You can see how happy I am."

"She made you that happy?"

"No." He sat up and turned his body to face mine. "This picture was taken the day after I met you. I guess I just like to keep it to remember the first time I had smiled like that. I tried to crop her out of the picture but do you know what it would be like for a guy to have a picture of himself as a background?"

At this point, my face is buried in my hands. I am laughing so much, I almost fall off the bed. He hits me with a pillow and I fall over. He started tickling me.

"Brandon, stop." I tried to spit out through both of our laughter. It felt good to be happy. _I'm so much more than 'just happy.' _Just like that, his face was hovering over mine. I moved forward a bit so our noses were just touching at the tip.

But what if we were caught? What if Mariana walked in and saw and screamed? What if Lena walked in and kicked Jude and me into the streets? I couldn't risk any of that. I knew it was going to be shaking and my voice was sure to crack but I had to say it, "Brandon, we can't do this. You're my brother."

I kissed him on the cheek and slowly made my way back to Mariana's room but not before looking back and seeing Brandon's head crumble into his hands.


	4. Chapter 4

I woke up the next morning (after my 2 hours of sleep) and went downstairs. Thankfully it was Friday. It had been a long week for all of us and it was good to have a two day break waiting after a short six hour day at school. I sat down in front of the plate of pancakes and fruit that Lena had set out for me. I didn't have much of an appetite but to avoid any questions, I ate almost everything.

Callie was walking by, mug of coffee in her hand like always. She made a point of brushing her hand against mine when she walked past but she didn't stop until she reached the living room. _I did not understand women. Or love. Or Callie._ The chills ran up my hand again and I had to shake it to make it all stop. By the time it was 7:15, Mariana and Callie were the only two who hadn't left for school yet. Guess I had to drive them.

Mariana took the passenger seat which I was silently wishing for. I just didn't want to make this anymore uncomfortable for Callie as they already seemed to be. And there wouldn't be any more obvious/accidental touching which confused me a hell of a lot more than it seemed to be confusing her. _She was so hot and cold._

We turned onto our third street of the morning still plagued by total silence. We flipped between a few radio stations. We finally decided to turn it off after Mariana complained that talk radio gave her a headache in the mornings. The clock on my dashboard read 7:23, we had seven minutes to make it to homeroom. Mariana sat sideways in her seat, grinning at both of us. "I don't mean to be nosey but when are you two going to get together?"

I watched Callie in the rear view mirror as she nearly choked on her sip of water. I alternated between watching the road and watching her say, "Never. We don't see each other like that." She paused and as if it was directed just to me, "We can't be like that."

"Well it just seems like you guys always have these little moments and I'm sure I'm not the only ones who notice. I would watch out for Lena, she was asking why you knocked into Brandon today. Mariana just turned forward in her seat. "I guess I'm just trying to say that if you two are going to be together, you need to do a better job of hiding it. Unless there really is nothing there, in that case, you should tell moms, they're getting suspicious."

I watched Callie for a few more minutes waiting for any type of sign. I want to know if this is what she really felt or if she was trying to convince herself that this is what needed to be done. _God, even when she looked lost, she looked beautiful._

After we parked the car, I walked to math with Callie close to my side. She had the same outfit on that she was wearing the day I met her. The only difference was her hair was a bit longer and the cut above her lip had turned into a small scar. _Still, she was flawless._ "Do you maybe want to hang out later? Maybe we could meet in the music room. I think the acoustic is still around." I had this ray of hope. Maybe things weren't as bad as they seemed to be. Maybe I just got caught in the moment and I was pushing too fast again. Callie and I hadn't gone to the music room in little over a week, maybe it would be some good quiet time for the two of us.

But my offer was shut down. "I'm going to a movie with Wyatt." Just like that I watched my world fall apart for the tenth or so time this week alone. _She is so damn hot an cold. She kept walking but I saw the guilty look on her face. _"I'm sorry." I thought I heard her mumble but she was already ahead of me.

I stopped walking. I took my bag that was hanging off my right shoulder and put it on the ground. It felt like tons sitting on my back. "I-I thought you-I thought you weren't seeing him anymore." _Stupid nervous stutter. I really need to work on that. _She finally stopped walking and turned to look at me. It felt like we were the only two in the hallway. The bell rang for homeroom and suddenly, we were the only two_. _I saw something in her brown eyes that made me think she was regretting it all now, but it was probably just a fleeting feeling.

"Listen, Brandon, I care about you. That is why I am staying away from you. Maybe we can play later on at home. Maybe Jude can listen in. Which I wanted to talk to you about." She started walking towards me a bit. "Jude's birthday is next week. Will you help me do something special for him?" All I could do was nod. I was too lost in everything else. She began to walk backwards and in the opposite direction of our math class. "I'll see you in class in ten, I just have to run to the bathroom."

That was the first of many lies that Callie was going to tell me.

**Ok well I know this is kind of slow but I promise it is getting there and the next two chapters will lead to everything. Promise! Please leave more reviews and let me know how I'm doing! You're the best...xx!**


	5. Chapter 5

"Be my love  
Be my friend  
Call it what you want I will always be your man  
In the summer  
And in the fall  
I don't care when, I'm always running when you call."

I'm not sure why I was here. I shouldn't fucking be here. I knew it was a bad idea. Lena was my foster mom and my vice principal. Of course she was going to find out that I skipped. I just needed to be alone. I told Wyatt I had doctors appointments and a meeting with my social worker all afternoon so we couldn't meet up after school today after all. He seemed to be in a worse mood than last night.

I stepped off the bus and took it all in. It hurt me more than I thought it would. Not because being in this place brought back memories...but because I was slowly forgetting all the memories that came with this park. I sat down on the first empty bench I found. There were California poppies planted all around the bench and a water fountain close by. I took my sweater off and placed it beside me. It was a perfect day outside.

I used to come to this park with my birth mom and dad a lot. When my brother was born, we would take him on walks in his stroller. This was back before my father lost his job and started drinking. Back when we had our own family fun nights. On Sundays, when my dad was off from work, we would go fly kites down by the lake over there. That's all I can remember.

I'm not sure why I wanted to come here. Maybe the talk with Mariana this morning scared me. _That was definitely it. _I have only come here once since my mom passed away. It was right after I had to leave Jude in that last house. I came to take a few pictures of the garden and the ducks at the lake. It was calming and it gave me time to think. I promised myself, just like last time, that I would only stay until the sun started to set.

I let the hours pass by. Couples with babies walked by. Single woman jogged by. Business men ran to work with their suitcases bumping against their knees. The elderly would stop and ask me how my day was going. The only time I left my bench was to get a popsicle from the ice cream truck that was passing through. I guess I just wanted to be a little kid again and not worry about any adult decisions.

Adult decisions being what my next step with Brandon should be. I cared about him, there was no doubting that. I wouldn't have told him about my mom or my dad or Liam if I didn't care about him. I never told anyone those things. Not even my social worker or the countless, faceless therapists I have seen over the years. Of course I had to care about him. He convinced me to tell Stef and Lena about what Liam did to me. I wouldn't have told anyone if I didn't trust him when he said everything was going to be ok.

Then it hit me...I did trust Brandon. It was a new concept I suppose. The only person I have trusted in close to ten years was Jude. A few people gave me a weird expression as I walked by. It was probably because of the ear to ear smile I had plastered across my face. It was weird trusting someone. _It was weird being attracted to someone._

I lost myself in train of thought and found the sun finally setting. I picked up my sweater and put it back on, it was staring to get cool.

"Hey, Callie?" I heard the voice calling off from a distance. I walked faster but I continued to hear it a few more times, each time getting louder as he approached behind me. I smiled and turned around.

"Hi Liam. I'm sorry I can't stay to talk but I really need to get home for dinner." I kept the fake smile for as long as I could. The good thing about Liam was though he was stronger, he was easy to fool. I turned to start walking but he grabbed my arm and spun me around. He held me tighter as he leaned down to kiss my left check. I had to hold back the tears.

"We need to talk about what happened at your school the other day with your redheaded friend." He got this evil grin that meant only one thing. So I ran. I ran until the air got so cold it hurt my lungs. I ran until I was so hot that I was ready to pass out.

I ended up next to a pay phone outside of a small bakery with a sign reading, 'Sorry, we're closed!" They were lucky. They were probably at home, curled up in their warm beds, in the arms of those who loved them. They were safe and they could be safe until 10 the next morning when that sign flipped over and read 'Welcome!'

I rummaged in the bottom of my bag and pulled out enough quarters to pay for a phone call. With the luck I had, my cell phone had died an hour or two ago. I had just enough money for one phone so I had to be smart with who I called.

After the third ring, he picked up. "Hello?" You can hear him playing the piano while waiting for an answer. It hurt me to know that I was pulling him away from something important. "Uh, hello."

"Oh, right sorry, it's me um I need you to do me a favor." The piano stopped playing. I told him that Liam had seen me in the park and he had that look in his eye like he was about to hit me. I gave him the street names and told him that I would take full blame. We wouldn't be back until after supper at this point.

"Callie, before you hang up just listen to me ok?" I heard the car door open and shut. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I am just as new to this as you are. I want things between us, whatever they may be, to be okay. I don't want to avoid you because that will hurt me more than not being with you. So lets start by being friends, okay?

I was sobbing at this point, "Okay. Thank you Brandon. I didn't know who to call. I heard him sigh and the car started up.

"Callie is there a convenience store anywhere around you or maybe a department store or a diner?" I looked around. All the shops seemed to be closed except for a doll shop across the street.

"There is a little doll shop across the street that looks like it's open." I took another quick glance around to see if Liam had followed me here. There was no sign of him.

"Perfect, I want you to go inside and wait in there okay? If he comes in, ask to use the phone. Call 911 if that happens." Even in situations like these he was so calm and in charge. _I don't know if I could live up to someone as perfect as he is. _"And I'm not upset that you called me. You needed a friend and I'm glad I could be the one."

I heard the line go silent and rushed across the street to the doll shop. A college-age student looked up when the bell rang, signally the door opening. When she saw me, she looked back down at the magazine she was reading.

I pretended to browse through the china dolls but caught a glimpse of the thunderstorm just as the rain started pouring down.


	6. Chapter 6

"The tears come streaming down your face

When you lose something you can't replace

When you love someone but it goes to waste

Could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home

And ignite your bones

And I will try to fix you."

The windshield wipers couldn't keep up with the rain. I had my high beams on and I still couldn't see. I came to the intersection that Callie had given me and I tried to find that doll shop. All the stores were closed, probably due to the storm. I don't think anyone thought it was going to get this bad. I drove up and down the road three times before I finally saw her. _She's breaking my heart._

The doll shop must have closed while she was was waiting for me. I found her crouched beneath an awning, hugging herself to stay dry. She seemed to be drenched from head to toe. I pulled off to the side of the road. I left the car running and my door wide open while I ran over to her. She was shaking and crying.

By the time I sat down beside her, I was soaked as well. Callie fell into me once I lowered myself to the curb. She just tucked her head into my neck and I watched her shake. "Callie, come on let's get you home. It took us a while but we both managed to walk back to the car. I sat in a puddle of rain on the way home and watched as Callie kept her head propped on the window. _She was so beautiful._

"Are you hungry at all?" We had missed dinner by an hour and a half at this point. I knew of a small 24 hour diner down the road that served coffee she would love. This seemed to make her happy. She lifted her head of the window and was smiling at me. _I'll take that as a yes._

We entered Diane's Diner around 9. There was a cop in the corner, two waitresses and a couple who looked to be about our age. There was a chalkboard sign that read 'Please Seat Yourself!' along with the specials of the week. I let Callie pick the table and she led us to another table in the corner. We were secluded from the half a dozen others scattered across the place.

"Thank you Brandon." She had her face hidden by the dessert menu. _Why did everything she did have to be so adorable._

"Do you want to tell me what really happened back there?"

She sighed and placed her menu down on the table. "Remember what I told you about how my mother passed away? I nodded, not really sure what this had to do with anything. "Well, the day that happened, I went with my mom to this park. My whole family used to go, actually." She let out an uneasy cough as our waitress took our orders and brought us coffee. Callie fiddled with the handle of her mug as she continued, "Anyway, in the car this morning Mariana had me thinking about what would have happened if she had survived. If I never came to live with you and your family. Do you think I would have met you regardless?"

"Are you asking me if I believe in fate? _Hell yes I did. Why else would someone so perfect be in my life? _I looked around the diner, from the counters to the people to the clock. "Yes, I do believe in fate. I'm sure we would have met, even if you were never brought into the foster care system.

"Well, when Mariana reminded us that if our moms found out about us having feelings for each other it would end terribly, I began to imagine my life with my birth mom again and then meeting you and being able to act on my feelings.

I had to pause for a second to make sure I was still here, in this dinner, with Callie. The same girl who didn't understand my moms being together, who went out with someone like Wyatt, who pushed me away every time she had the chance. This couldn't have been the same Callie. She was being too open with her feelings. It was unusual but I liked this side of Callie just as much. "You know you just called them 'our moms' right?

Her brown eyes became wide realizing her mistake. "I, um, I'm sorry I guess I just got caught in the moment. I'm sorry if I scared you about the whole feelings conversation too. I decided to ditch Wyatt today. The park seemed like the right place to be at the time, you know? It was a nice day and I needed a break to just think. If I had waited till tomorrow when there was no school - someone would have followed me and I wouldn't have time to think about my mom and Jude and Stef and Lena and you."

"What about me?" _This was it._

"I care about you. I know I care about you more than I should, but that's not what is hard for me to confess okay? I have had crushes before and while I have acted on them, I never trusted them. I'm not afraid of getting kicked out if we get together someday Brandon. Whether it be now, tomorrow, or never. I am worried that I am going to trust you and you are going to break it. I know I shouldn't think such things because I know you and I know that you wouldn't but after everything that has happened in my life, it's just hard. That's why I push away every time you attempt to get closer."

I nodded in understanding as our apple pies came to the table, fresh out of the oven. I saw her had on the table and suddenly, I went for it. Right as my fingers went to rest upon hers, she pulled her hand back. I tucked my hand back into my lap and swallowed back the embarrassment. Then, she grabbed my hand under the table and we ate the rest of our desserts in silence.

We wouldn't get back until after minute and my moms weren't going to be too happy about it but it was okay because Callie and I were going to be okay.

**I probably won't upload a new chapter until I receive a few more reviews. I just don't want to continue the story if people aren't enjoying it! Thanks again! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**WOW! ok thanks so much for your great reviews guys, you're all awesome! so what did you guys think of the season finale? I don't think I have ever screamed / cried at a tv screen more than I did tonight. Did anyone from the Fosters manage to tweet any of you guys? I tried to have David lambert respond but i had no such luck :( Anyway, Enjoy!**

"Open me up and you will see  
I'm a gallery of broken hearts  
I'm beyond repair, let me be  
And give me back my broken parts

I just want to know today, know today, know today  
I just want to know something today  
I just want to know today, know today, know today  
Know that maybe I will be ok  
Just give me back my pieces  
Just give them back to me please  
Just give me back my pieces  
And let me hold my broken parts"

1 - The time we finally made it home

2 - The number of pies I managed to eat.

3 - The amount of relevant songs I heard in the car on the way home with Brandon.

4 - The amount of weeks we are both grounded for.

5 - Days until Jude's birthday.

10 - My prediction on how many months I had left in this house.

Finally, 12 - The amount of stupid, plastic, glow-in-the-dark stars and moons cheaply plastered on Mariana's ceiling.

Don't get me wrong. Sometimes I like the plastic stars, sometimes I don't. Tonight - I don't. I just don't like being restricted to one bed, in one room, in one house, on one street, in one city, in one state, in one country, on one continent. Why did I have to be restricted to these twelve fake stars when I could literally be anywhere and look at the real ones?

I had to remind myself that I was lucky that I was even looking at these stars. I could be looking at cracks in the ceiling or no ceiling at all, like past homes. I was lucky to have a roof over my head and a family that did care about Jude and I.

I turned to my left, my right, then my left again. Every last detail of the day replaying like a broken record. The vinyl halting every time I would least expect. What had I done? Why did I go to that park? Now, Brandon and I were both grounded and I was left with haunting memories of my mom, dad, Liam and those terrifying china dolls.

I flashed back to only a few hours ago.

Brandon and I let go of each others hands as soon as we entered the family's foyer. I wasn't sure if it was a romantic hand holding or just one of those sympathetic - 'I'm here for you' ones.

"Are you going to be okay?" He leaned down to my ear and whispered. I had to admit that I felt the chills flying throughout my body. We heard Lena rushing into the entrance way, calling out our names and I quickly shook my head. No, I was not going to be ok.

Suddenly, Lena was standing a few feet away from us. "Where have you two been? You both had me worried sick, I almost called Stef at the station." She pointed to the couch in the living room, indicating that we better take a seat.

Brandon took the lead and I followed. _God, I would follow him anywhere._

"It is one am where have you two been?" Foot tapping on the hardwood floor, Lena asked for our where abouts again, looking for a solid answer. I decided long ago that I was going to take full blame for this.

"I skipped school today. It was a hard day, I was missing my birth mom a lot and I just wanted to get close to her. I went to this little park we used to go to before she died." I smiled to myself, thinking of another memory that had been stored in the back of my mind. "She always used to pick the California poppies there and put one in my hair. She always said 'Callie, my button, you are as gorgeous as an entire field of poppies' The Wizard of Oz was her favorite movie, I think thats why she liked poppies so much." I sighed to let everything settle in before I went on with my story. "One day at the park she didn't put a poppy in my hair like she usually did. She handed it to me and said 'Cal, one day someone is going to tell you that you look as beautiful as a flower and I want you to think of us, right here, right now. I want you to think of this park and this flower and I want you to understand that there is someone out there that thinks that you are as beautiful as anything that mother nature could every possibly imagine creating.'"

I could see Brandon out of the corner of my eye. He looked at me with such infatuation that I blushed under his stare. His knee hit mine. When I looked up to see if Lena had noticed, she had her eyes closed, listening. So I continued on.

"Well, I woke up today and realized that Jude's birthday is next week which means that I will be a year older as well. 17 years and no one has ever told me I'm as beautiful as anything, nobody." I caught a side glance at Brandon who was now looking down at his hands. "I just needed to be close to my mom again, Lena, to feel confident in myself again. I'm sorry, I know it was stupid and worst of all, I got Brandon involved. The only reason I called was because I ran into Liam and..."

Lena's eyes flew up and her face lost all her color. She sprung up from her chair and I flinched back in panic. I ended up curled in Brandon's arms, head tucked into his neck. I felt one arm around my shoulder and the other along my arm. Each hand was making small circles across my skin. I heard Brandon faintly through the ringing in my ear. He managed to say, "Shh, shh, Callie it's okay it's just Lena, she's not going to hurt you, we're not going to hurt, no one is going to hurt you."

I slowly lifted my head to see Lena, standing in front of me shaking with tears streaming uncontrollably down her face. Sweet, poor, Lena. She would never hurt me let alone a spider and I knew that.

"I-I'm sorry. I guess I was just stuck in the past for a bit and forgot that I was safe here."

Brandon's arms were still wrapped around me tightly. It was the only thing in this moment that was giving me total reassurance that I was safe.

"Callie, listen to me." Lena sat down on the other side of me, forcing Brandon to remove his hold on me. Thankfully, he did manage to grab my hand and hold it between us. His had was much bigger than mine. I never realized how small my fingers were. The chills that shot up my arm made everything seem ok. "We are here to keep you safe. I don't know what happened in your previous homes and I won't ask unless you feel comfortable enough to tell me. What happened in the past, stays in the past. We didn't care when you came in here and saw that there were twelve previous foster homes." _Twelve? Damn I didn't think there was that many. _"We didn't care that you had a record. We cared that we were able to give a girl a safe home. That's what we are going to do. I'm not sure what your previous foster parent's put you through but I can assure you that you will never go to bed hungry, you will always have a roof over your head and a bed to fall into and most importantly, you will never, ever get a hand raised to you. Do you hear me?"

I had to pull away from both of them to wipe away the now happy tears that were flooding from my eyes. Right then, I made a pact to myself that I would never do anything to jeopardize my safety in this house. Especially putting Brandon in danger too.

"Thank you, Lena. That was just what I needed to hear. She enveloped me in a hug and Brandon soon followed, secretly kissing the back of my head. _What the hell was he doing? _Sure, we had held hands and hugged but we never got this far.

"Now loves" Lena said, pulling away. There was a hint of anger in her voice. _Here we go, she caught us. _"Up to bed, grounded for a month, both of you. Extra dish duty, no friends over and no cell phones." She shooed us away after listing off the rules.

Like before, Brandon led the way up to the second floor. Before splitting off into our separate rooms, he swiveled on his heels and asked, "Are you going to be ok? Sleeping, I mean, it's been a rough night." The way he fumbled to get the right words out made me laugh.

"Yes, I'll be okay. Thanks again Brandon." I smiled and walked into the room, slowly closing the door behind me and falling onto my bed.

And thats how I ended up staring at these stupid plastic stars. I reached over to look at the time on my phone. _I was going to miss this thing when they took it away in the morning. _3:21. _Awesome._

I quietly slipped the covers of my body and tip toed my way out of the room. I managed to make my way down the stairs without waking anyone. I walked into the kitchen with a million, jumbled thoughts flipping through my head.

12 - The amount of plastic stars I could get used to seeing every night.

6 - People in this house that cared about me.

5- The amount of days till my baby brothers birthday.

4 - Hours until my family woke up.

3 - The amount of minutes it took until I heard someone follow me into the kitchen.

2 - The number of bowls I had to get out for our ice cream sundaes.

1 - The one boy that stood in front of me.

0 - The amount of doubts I had on my feelings for him.

_Brandon. _My breath caught and I got the ice cream out of the fridge. _Who was even counting the amount of months I had left?_ All I knew in that moment was that I had 4 hours left to spend alone with him.

**Okay, Few things! 1. That count down was hard so don't judge me if I messed up on it haha. 2. Can we just talk about how in every Braille Fanfiction there is some like inside joke about doing dishes? Like who decided that that would be a common theme? lol. 3. Let me know what you guys think. I love reading comments, good or bad. I want to know what you guys want to see! Thanks, xx!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Ok I have written 3 new chapters for this story so just keep the reviews coming and I will keep uploading! Just want to give you guys a heads up that there are some semi graphic scenes (Not really but I mean not exactly kiddie play either so yea..if you're easily offended, I suggest you skip this chapter.) Enjoy!**

"Look at the stars,

Look how they shine for you,

And everything you do,

Yeah, they were all yellow."

It was 3:21 and I couldn't sleep even if my life depended on it. I was just so wrapped up in happiness and sadness and bitterness and confusion. How many questions could possibly be left unanswered in my head?

All I wanted to do right now was walk across the hall into Callie's room and lay beside her. I wanted to explore every part of her mind. The good, the bad and the unknown.

I heard someone step on a creaky floorboard outside my door. Outside, the person who made the sudden noise in the dead of the night, decided to head downstairs. Whoever it was, maybe they could keep me company.

I walked down the stairs and saw Callie reaching up to the top shelf, having a little bit of difficulty reaching. "Need any help?" I asked as I reached over her, sandwiching her between the counter and myself to grab two bowls.

"Thanks." She said as she went to the freezer and pulled out the almost empty carton of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. She scooped enough ice cream for both of our bowls and slid mine across the counter. She watched as it glided over and fell into my reach with ease. We ate our ice cream sundaes in silence.

So, here we were. At 3:30 in the morning, grounded, and eating freezer burned ice cream together. _I could get used to this._

"Couldn't sleep?" I asked her as we stood in the darkness. I couldn't see her face very well but I noticed she was shaking her head. Putting my dirty dishes into the sink, I waited for something - anything. After a few minutes, I stepped forward. "Goodnight Callie." I reached the entrance before I turned back around. "I'm sorry I wasn't there with you earlier. I'm sorry you were alone. " In all honesty, apologizing sounded like the best thing to do at the moment. I had never dealt with something like this before.

"Oh, and one more thing. You're mom was right. You're way prettier than any flower out there."

I left the kitchen feeling satisfied with the smile I left on her face.

Laying back in my bed, I heard that loose floorboard creak again. "Goodnight Callie." I whispered as I closed my eyes, ready to hand myself over to whatever dream I was going to have about her tonight. I was just about to drift off when I head my door open and close. I stood up, seeing her standing in the dim light.

"Callie what are you..."

I couldn't finish my sentence before she pushed me back onto my bed. I can't really explain what I was feeling when I watched her swing her legs over mine to straddle me. It was like every emotion rolled into one again.

For a while, no words were said. It was just the two of us in the dead of the night. She was sitting on my lap, refusing to break eye contact with me. I finally made the first move.

Slowly, as if about to touch a butterfly that could fly away at any moment, I reached up to run the back of my index finger along her cheek. She had the softest skin. She searched my face, looking for something but I wasn't sure what. It only lasted for one second but I saw that light in her eyes as she pushed me back even farther.

I was now laying flat on my back with her still straddling me. I was at a loss for words. Maybe this was just a dream. I had so many dreams of this happening. Never like this but plenty of dreams of the sorts. "Say it again." It was barely audible but I heard it fall through those perfect lips.

"Say what? What do you want me to say again?"

"Tell me that I'm beautiful."

I grinned and allowed my head to fall back onto the pillow. Moving a piece of hair behind her ear, I let her hear what she wanted to hear. "No poppies could compare to that smile."

And that was all it took. Her lips collided with mine. Forget about any sparks I felt holding her hand or kissing the top of her head. Nothing compared to these sparks I was feeling right here, right now. With her lips rested upon mine, everything in my life began to make sense. I understood why she was brought into my life. I understood the math problem for the homework I had been stuck on all day. I knew the next few keys needed to complete my composition. Everything became clear.

"I need you." I'm not sure if I said that out loud or in my head. Callie was now asking for more from me. I parted my lips just enough for her tongue to be welcomed in. She definitely wasn't new to this, she knew all the right things to do.

I opened my eyes to watch her for a minute. I loved her too much not to see what she looked like in this moment. Of course, she looked gorgeous. _Wow, she really did know what she was doing._ I moved my hands up and down her back, squeezing and releasing her at all the right moments.

I wanted to do more, of course I wanted to do more. But, I couldn't push her into anything too fast and what if someone caught us? _Who cares._ She placed her hand under my shirt, taking it all in. I could feel her heart beat racing as her hand glided from my chest to the lining of my basketball shorts. I managed to control my breathing by focusing on kissing her. I put every damn emotion I was feeling into that kiss. She placed her hands inside my pants but she seemed to have paused. It was almost as if she was waiting for permission.

I finally parted lips with her. "Callie, I know I am going to regret this in the morning but I think we should take it slow." I watched the embarrassment cover her face. She sat up and managed to stop straddling me. I got a bit uncomfortable, seeing that I was still aroused.

"I-I'm sorry"

"Don't be Cal, I just want to make sure we are on the same page. I want you to know that I want this so, so much and I couldn't even imagine doing this with anyone else but you."

"You have Talya." Her voice sounded like a mix of disappointment and anger.

"Talya and I never uh...yea, I'm a virgin." _Damn. This was embarrassing._ She let me take both of her hands into mine. "How about we start from the beginning?"

She pushed some hair out of the way that was blocking my eye. "Okay but if you say hi, my name is Brandon Foster, you run the risk of me never talking to you again. She gave an adorable slightly, awkward smile.

"That's okay. How about we just skip to the part where I ask you on a date?"

"A date." Callie repeated, thinking it over in her own mind. "Depends on what you have in mind."

"Well, my dear, I am going to keep that a secret."

"I guess that would be okay." You could see the excitement written on her face, no matter how much she tried to down play it. She stood up and gave me another long kiss before walking over to my door. "Guess I'll see you in four weeks." Then she slipped out of my room, silent as a ghost.

I laid back in bed once again. I saw the glow-in-the-dark stars and moons that were still stuck on my ceiling from when I was little. There were 26 plastic stars and endless real ones and I only wanted to share them with that one girl right there.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi everyone! I made a promise to myself that I would try to upload a chapter a day but don't be upset if I miss a few, I'm trying! Anyway, send me some pm's and we can chit chat about the show or writing and what now! This chapter is a filler, not much Braille but it will lead somewhere I promise. The next few chapters may end up being fillers just to give you kind of a deeper look into Callie and Brandon when they're apart. Enjoy**

"I can hear those echoes in the wind at night  
Calling me back in time  
Back to you  
In a place far away  
Where the water meets the sky  
The thought of it makes me smile  
You are my tomorrow"

The next morning I woke up to a singing in my head. I'm not sure why it took this long for my life to finally reach a decent point but I think it was worth the wait. I rolled over to my side to reach my phone on the nightstand. _Maybe Brandon had sent me a good morning text. _I realized that Lena and Stef must have already taken it away while I was sleeping. _Shit._

The shower turned on from two doors down and I noticed that Mariana was no longer in her bed. I decided to head downstairs to see everyone, I was most likely the last person in the Foster house up. I walked to the closet and pulled out a pair of jeans and an old, loose - fitting gray shirt. The t - shirt that I decided to wear once belonged to my dad, pre-drinking, but it no longer smelled like him. This shirt was the only thing I decided to keep of my father's. What he did, who he was - I couldn't change that. No one could take it back. I was lucky enough to know my father before he fell of course. He once wore this shirt to a soccer game I played in. The coach was sick so he filled in for him. I remember watching him yell enthusiastically at my teammates, thinking of how lucky I was to have him as my coach. I remember looking into the bleachers and seeing my very pregnant mother giving me a thumbs up, even when I let every kick into that goal.

Upon arriving downstairs, I found everyone watching Saturday morning cartoons, except for Jesus who must have been the Foster occupying the bathroom. Brandon flashed me one of his knee buckling grins and I felt the heat rise throughout my body. I sat in between Lena and Stef. Without giving it a second thought, I gave Stef a kiss on the cheek and rested my head on Lena's shoulder. _I felt safe. _I was aware of the confusion being passed between the two as they gave each other a look but everyone needed to feel appreciated every once in a while and hey - I was in a great mood, so why not?

"Take that shirt off." Jude sat across the room and never took his eyes off the television set.

My brother never got a chance to really know my father. He was relatively young when the drinking started. All his memory can recall was some drinking and parts of the car crash. He knew that this shirt had belonged to him. Every time he saw me wearing it, I was asked to remove it. Even if he was younger than I was, I always did what I was told.

"Ok Jude." I whispered as I made my way up to my shared bedroom. I felt each tear burn a hole into my skin. I felt like a traitor.

A soft knock was casted on the door. Thinking it was Brandon, I opened the door. To my surprise, Stef walked in. I quickly wiped the tears and put on a smile.

"Honey, lets talk." I nodded and followed her over to the bed. She allowed me to lay my head upon her lap while we talked. She traced circles with her fingers on the back of my neck. _Just like my mother used to do._ "Why did Jude ask you to change your clothes?"

The one thing I admired most about Stef was her cut to the chase attitude. She was just like me. She never beat around the bush. "It used to be our dad's."

She nodded in understanding, though I'm not sure that she really understood at all. "Lena told me what happened last night, how you flinched when she came near you. This time it was my turn to nod my head. I didn't like where this conversation was headed. "I guess I was just on edge, that's all."

"Callie, we were going to wait until after dinner tonight but Lena thinks it would be a good idea to say something now. Someone has been looking into you and Jude's file for two weeks now. They want to meet you late next week to look into maybe seeing if you're a good match for adoption."

Stef continued on about the wonderful family from New Hampshire who lived in California during the summer. Someone was interested in us, the Jacobs. She went on and on about the speech therapist who couldn't get pregnant after years of trying and her husband, the lawyer who looked into adoption. They realized that it was there, as Stef put it, 'calling in life' to have a teenage girl and younger son. But I heard none of that.

I heard ringing. Sirens. Screaming. Silence. I heard ringing, drowning out the voices of Lena, Stef, Brandon, Jesus and Mariana, begging me not to leave. Begging me not to take Jude away from them so soon. Here I was, picturing myself in some cabin in the woods up north with some other family. There was no twin rivalries. No beach outside of our school. There would be no breakfast cooked by Lena every morning and I couldn't watch Stef dance her partner around the kitchen during dinner. There would be no scheduled bathroom times. There would be no fights between Mariana and myself over closet space. There would be no familiar routes for me to walk everyday. There would be no more bowls too high for me to reach. There would be no more warm weather all year round. There would be no more china dolls. No more Diane's Diner. No more chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream at 3 am. No more California Poppies. No more amazingly, sadistic plastic stars. And there would be no more sneaking around because there would be no more Brandon.

"Um - I will have to see what Jude wants." Stef nodded, kissed the top of my head and exited my room. She left me to collect my own thoughts.

A few seconds later, I heard a beep from under my bed. I retrieved my phone from behind the post on the ground. _Apparently they hadn't taken it away. _I had one message waiting. I opened up the text that read,

**So, Stef told you, I'm assuming?**

Tears filled my eyes once again. He was just asking me on a date last night when all along he knew I was going to have one foot out the door? Maybe he was just like every other guy I've ever been with. He knew I could be shipped off to New Hampshire any day now and he was making me fall in love with him.

I took my phone and threw it straight at the wall. Downstairs, my 'family' sat laughing at an animated feature. Down the hall, Jesus shut the shower off and returned to his bedroom. Down below my feet, was my broken cell phone. Just like my heart and my life that was falling apart into the same number of pieces. I waited so long for this but it wasn't suppose to happen like this. It wasn't suppose to happen right now. _ I could never have just one good day._


	10. Chapter 10

"Just don't tell them I've gone crazy

That I'm still strung out over you.

Tell them anything you want to.

Just don't tell them all the truth.

I still need you."

After our usual Saturday morning cartoons, I decided to go see if Callie wanted to go for a walk. I counted the twelve steps up the flight of stairs and ended up outside of her bedroom door.

I knocked quietly but heard no response. I knocked twice more before Callie opened the door. My heart broke as I stared at her tiny figure. Her hair was pulled into a messy bun, lopping to the right. Multiple strands had already fallen out of the elastic. Her eyes were close to swollen shut. The visible part was blood shot. Allowing my eyes to travel down even further, I noticed that she was still wearing that shirt that Jude asked her to take off. Her pants were off, tossed onto the floor and I noticed that everything blow was covered just enough by the hem of the shirt as to make nothing visible. My heart seemed to break. Just like her phone that I saw smashed across her floor.

I stepped forward to wrap my arms around her tiny waist, bust she pushed me off. She had a look of disgust written of her face. I wondered what I had done between last night and this moment right here. I haven't even said one word to her. I walked forward again, trying once more to wrap my arms around the one girl that had my world constantly spinning. She once again pushed me off. This time, I lost my balance and fell into the wall behind me.

"How could you?" She spoke with such venom in her voice. I tired to wrap my mind around what I did, but nothing came to mind. "You knew all along?"

_Oh._ I ran an anxious hand through my hair. "I was only told yesterday morning. Nothing is set in stone yet Callie."

She hit me again. "Don't you see what you did Brandon? You made me trust you and fall in love with you and you knew all along that I was leaving.

"Love?" It was the only words I could muster up the courage to say.

She shook her head in pure disgust once more and made her way over the bed. She fell onto the sheets with ease and curled herself into a ball, facing the wall. "Just get out."

I listened to her request and headed over to the door. Before I walked back into my own room filled with regrets and memories, I turned to her. "You know I have fallen in love with you too." Just like that, I decided my only option was to head downstairs.

"Hey mom, can we talk?" I found my mom still lounging on the sofa where I had left her a few minutes ago.

"Sure honey, let's head out to the porch." This was where my mother usually took us when we wanted to talk in private. It was sort of our place. My mom grabbed her coffee mug that was half empty. _Kind of just like me._ I followed her outside and we both sat on the top step. There was an overcast up above and the puddles across the street indicated that it had already rained once. "What do you want to talk about?"

Her question broke me out of my daydream. I rubbed dirt between my index finger and thumb, counting the seconds that passed by. "Does she have to leave?" I tossed the dirt back into the flower pot.

I watched my mom's facial expressions shit. I never really noticed how much I didn't look like her. I hated that I had so many physical features that resembled my fathers. I hated it. "Brandon, we are trying to find Callie and Jude a safe home. That is what our job as foster parents is suppose to be. We have found her the right match and we will find out this week if they think so too."

"Does it have to be so far away? She nodded and I lost it. "How could you even call us a family? You took the twins in without a second thought but you are willing to ship Callie and Jude off the first chance you get? Don't we get a say in any of this? Right now my brother..." _I had to force this out to get my point across. _"And my sister are upstairs crying because they know what this world is like outside of this house. They turned to you and Lena to keep them away from the demons out there that awe just waiting to hurt them again and break them until they're nothing. We can't keep them out of harm's way if they're living across the country. And did you ever think how it would effect the five of us?" She stayed quiet, respecting my opinion therefore, I continued. "What are we going to do when Jude leaves and no one needs help with their homework, huh? What about when Callie leaves and there is no one in the house who will actually sit with me and really listen to me play piano? What are we going to do?"

"Brandon, take a second to just calm down and breathe." But, see, that was the thing... I couldn't just 'calm down'. Too much was on the line for me to just 'calm down.' So, I did what seemed logical at the time. I ran and I continued to run until I was lost.

* * *

**More to follow. xoxo**


	11. Chapter 11

Four in the morning and it looked like it was going to be another sleepless night. I sat up at the kitchen counter with a half eaten banana and a carton of strawberries open in front of me. It was raining outside and I watched the droplets run their course down the kitchen window.

I sat at the kitchen table and mentally beat myself up over the feelings I had created within me. I had allowed myself to find a best friend in Mariana, something I never imagined happening to me. I allowed myself to take over the role of older sister to Jesus which I deeply regretted. He was not only losing me but I was losing him. I allowed myself to call Lena and Stef mom when no one was around. Now, I'm losing them. I allowed myself to find a lover in Brandon who would soon just be a memory.

I think the worst thing that I did was allow Jude to feel some of these things too. It was was going to be a lot harder for him to walk away than it would be for me.

I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I hardly noticed Brandon grace me with his presence until after the light from the fridge nearly blinded me. _Damn, I needed to remember to start wearing pants this late. _He walked over and picked the smallest strawberry from the carton, taking it for himself.

He hesitantly walked around the kitchen island to be closer to me. I wanted so badly to push him away. To hit him and yell at him and hate him for leading me on but I couldn't move. Most likely noticing that I wasn't denying him, he leaned down and kissed my temple. Brandon nodded as if trying to tell me a secret message that was too precious to even be said in the still of the night over 'romantic' fruit.

This must have become a game between the two of us because I watched him retreat up the stairs. I knew I was supposed to follow. Trace has steps with my own but frankly, I was too tired.

After taking my sweet time cleaning up the mess I made, I decided to see what Brandon had wanted. I didn't bother knocking on the door, I just entered. There stood Brandon, pacing back in forth in nothing but his briefs, looking like a deer in headlights. Clearly, he was not expecting me to accept the invitation to his room.

"Um - I can come back another time if you're busy."

"No, no you can come in." He said as he rushed to the bed to clear off a stack of books so I could take a seat. I didn't want him to look good but damn, he looked good.

"Look Callie, I have been thinking a lot and you are right. I should have told you the second I found out but I promise you that I am not, nor have I ever, led you on. I want to be with you. Hell, I think I need to be with you. I will fight this if it means I can keep you here for even a second longer. I love you." All this time, he never took his eyes off the floor. He had this anxious, depressed look to him and it broke me.

My eyes wondered to the plastic stars. I imagined myself somewhere in New Hampshire, laying in a field with Jude and looking at the real ones. The millions of real stars hanging up there in the black sky. They were something else that had the power to make me feel so incredibly unimportant. At least standing here in this room, with these fake stars - I was the real one. I could breathe and grow and feel. These stars would never get that chance.

I nodded my head making sure not to show any emotion. I wanted to just end this now so dreams of him won't keep me up. Opening the door, I quickly tried to make my way through the frame.

"Stay with me." His voice was low and husky. He was practically begging me. I held the tears in my eyes.

"A love like this won't last forever." Before I had a chance to take another step out of his room, he took hold of my hand. Brandon's lips were on mine in an instant. I stood, frozen as he kissed me with as much passion as I have ever felt. Suddenly, it hit me. I wanted this.

I began to kiss him with as much force as he was casting upon me. My eyes quickly fluttered shut in bliss. He ran his tongue across my bottom lip and I let him. His fingers laced through mine as I stepped forward. With nothing but his briefs and my thin, black underwear separating us - He was probably more turned on than he should have been. I decided that it was now or never. With this weeks events, who knew how much longer I had here. Who knew the chances I would have to be in Brandon's room again.

With my sudden burst of adrenaline and every other raging hormone coursing through my body, I held the hem of his briefs between my fingers. Slowly, I pulled him over to the bed, allowing myself to fall back with him on top of me.

We laid that way for a while. Just staring down at me, studying everything there was to study. His fingertips travelled from my hip to my inner thigh then back to my hip. I let out a small moan that created a smile on his face. This was nice, this was easy.

"Stay with me tonight." It was more of a demand than a question. I rolled over to my left and allowed him to crawl in behind me. He placed his hand under my shirt and rested his fingertips on my bare stomach. I drifted off to sleep in his arms as he softly hummed his latest composition in my ear. The last words I heard before I gave in to sleep were, "I love you." I expressed my feelings to him in return and drifted off.

Right now, I didn't mind getting caught. Hell, I was leaving anyway. And best of all - I just knew that the fake stars up above were jealous of us.


	12. Chapter 12

**Super short chapter guys, sorry! I just need a filler cause I finally have a full outline of where this story is going haha (took me long enough). This is kind of a filler chapter I guess you could say. Send me some love! xx.**

I woke up the next morning with empty arms and an empty bed. It took a few seconds to remember everything that had happened in this bed just a few hours before.

Of course she was gone. I was naive to think that she wouldn't leave. I had silently prayed that she would be here when I woke up. But, at some time over the course of the morning, she disappeared.

I kicked my legs of the edge of the bed and buried my head in my hands. Callie and I had limited time together and we couldn't even enjoy the time that we did have.

My door opened and I saw Callie walk through, kicking the door shut with her foot behind her. She was wrapped in a towel and her hair was dripping water droplets onto my floor.

"Sorry love, I went to take a shower." She climbed onto my bed and kissed my cheek. In one swift motion, I flipped her over so she was laying on the bed and I was on top of her. She let out a small giggle. _Perfect._

"I thought you had left me."

"Why would I have done that?"

"I'm not sure. I just thought that maybe you decided to head back to your room before the others woke up.

"Well Brandon, I am not the type of girl that says she loves you then splits." I figured she was hinting as something deeper than just getting up to take a shower. She probably meant that she would feel the same, even across the country. She reached up and ran her fingers through my hair. Callie smiled but pushed me off the bed. "Go get in the shower, I'll see you downstairs."

I kissed her once on the lips and proceeded to the bathroom.

When I arrived downstairs, everyone was gathered in the living room.

"Family meeting." Lena sung in an entirely too enthusiastic way. _Awesome. _In the Foster house, family meetings were pretty bad. It usually happened when Mariana, Jesus and I did something wrong at the same time. I tried to think if any of us had gone against the rules this week.

That was when it hit me that I had fallen asleep with my foster sister a few hours ago. Callie must have thought the same thing because when I turned to her, she was staring straight ahead, white as a ghost.

"Brandon, relax, this is not a regular family meeting." My mom must have have recognized my state of panic.

"Okay kids, we just want to give everyone a run through of this upcoming week. Thursday Callie and Jude will meet with Bill and the Alberticus' to see if they are a good match. _Alberticus? Callie Alberticus? I liked Callie Foster better. _Then, this weekend Stef and I have decided to get hitched." She reached over to take my mom's hand. My brother and sister screamed and rushed over to hug them both. The room exploded with congratulations, except from Callie.

My mom looked around at all of us. "Callie, would you please take Jude upstairs to tell him everything I told about the family?" Callie absentmindedly agreed and directed her younger brother to his room.

"Ok, loves we have some things to talk about. Brandon, Lena and I have given some thought to what you told me on the porch yesterday. After Thursday, if Callie and Jude decide that they don't want to be adopted by the other family, we were thinking of maybe adopting the two."

My eyes flashed around me, not sure if I was hearing this correctly. Jesus had a smile plastered on his face and Mariana's jaw was close to the floor, tears threatening to fall.

"But you kids can't say anything. We want to give Callie and Jude a chance of happiness out there. If they like this family, we will be supportive in letting them go. If they don't, we will discuss adoption. They will become a permenant part of our family. Is that fair Brandon?"

I shook my head yes. On the inside I felt happiness and sadness and anger and confusion. We were so close to having her but she could be taken away at the drop of a hat. And what if she stayed? What would happen to _us?_


	13. Chapter 13

**Ok so I know I didn't post a chapter yesterday but I will have 2 chapters up tomorrow! I like this chapter a lot. It's different. I think I just need to step back and add some chapters of Callie and Brandon's thoughts. Enjoy and review. Xoxo**

"Somehow everything's gonna fall right into place

If we only had a way to make it all fall faster everyday

If only time flew like a dove

Well God, make it fly faster than I'm falling in love"

Thursday rolled around and I found out how much I hate getting dressed up. The night before, the Foster girls had a night out. Well, it was a girls' night if you consider the three of them running around to different stores, telling me what I should wear to meet this couple.

I studied the molding on the big conference table we were sitting at. The white button up shirt I was wearing was tucked into my black pencil skirt. Everything was too tight.

I had Lena on my right, Stef on my left and Brandon on my mind. It was kind of annoying, you know? Life. I mean one minute you're three steps ahead and the next you will never have a chance to catch up. It's like that stupid PSP game Jude and Jesus are always playing. For the first two laps you could be in first place, maybe even ready to lap someone. Until, out of nowhere, the cars who are more deserving of first place pass you. Then, you're in dead last. That's me. I'm in the shitty car.

The Alberticus' entered the room. They seemed nervous. I don't think they were the only ones though. I saw Jude on the other side of Lena and I noticed that the poor boy never took his eyes off his lap. He was one of those cars that deserved to be in first.

Bill introduced us. The couple went on to discuss their house and neighborhood. I noticed Stef and Lena listening to every word carefully. My mind drifted off somewhere else again.

I started daydreaming that I was actually in one of those races. I looked at my competition. In one car, Talya. Her car was labeled as Guilt. I saw Liam. No, multiple Liams. Panic, Anxiety, Hostility. My dad was there too. His car was labeled Stupidity. Finally, there was the Alberticus'. Double, Triple, Quadruple Alberticus'. Loneliness, Emptiness, Distance, Naivety. I saw the finish line ahead and there stood the prize. _Brandon._

So that was what I needed to do. I needed to beat Guilt, Panic, Anxiety, Hostility, Stupidity, Loneliness, Emptiness, Distance, and Naivety to be with Brandon. That seemed like a lot... The race started and I was somewhere in the middle. Ahead of Stupidity and Emptiness but lagging behind Guilt and Distance. I was on the last lap when Naivety crashed into me, sending me into a guardrail. I heard the horn sounding, indicating that the race was over. I knew that all of my emotions had passed meaning I was dead last. Hell, I couldn't even finish the race. I saw my car catch fire and I heard Brandon screaming my name, but everything went dark.

"Callie, Callie!" I snapped out of my vision as Bill called my name.

"Yes?"

"I asked if you had any questions for Lisa and Matt."

"No, I'm fine."

I fell into another daydream as we said our 'goodbyes' and 'hopefully see you laters'. This daydream was of just Brandon and I. Brandon was sitting at the kitchen island, on one of our many 4 am kitchen dates. He was going on about how much he hated his piano lessons because he felt like he owed his father something for all the money he was putting down.

He looked so tense. His shoulders were shrugged up, almost as if they were stuck there. I wanted to make him feel better. Make him never feel tense or stressed or anxious again. I reached up to touch his cheek, the way I always did when he talked about his dad. He retreated from my touch quickly. "Callie, what are you doing? You know I'm with Talya." He took a deep sigh and got up from his spot at the table. He walked over to the entrance and turned to me, "I know that being so close to someone so often can cause feelings to stir but Callie, I have to be honest, I only see you as my sister."

With his glass of milk filled to the brim, he went back upstairs to the comfort of his bedroom. I was left sitting in the dark, embarrassed and alone.

Why was I having these daydreams?

Before I knew it, we were back in the car, on our way home. Home? Could I call it that? I mean I probably wasn't going to be here much longer. Home is for family. I am not part of their family.

"Well, how do you like them?" Lena asked as she turned onto our street.

I didn't like them. Too picture perfect. we won't mesh well. They won't understand me.. That's what I want to say. Lena looked at me through the rearview mirror. "They're okay."

When we got to the house, I kicked off my shoes and headed upstairs. I didn't bother to wait for everyone to go to bed. I just went right upstairs to Brandon's room. He didn't look up from his keyboard. He just raised a hand to let me know he acknowledged my presence. Flopping onto his bed, I slipped into another daydream.

This one took place on our front porch. I saw Lisa and Matt packing the last of Jude's bags into the trunk of the limo that was going to take us to the airport. My goodbyes started. I hugged Mariana. She had a tear rolling down her cheek. She whispered in my ear, "You should have stayed." Jesus was next. As I hugged him he whispered, "You should have told them, you should have stayed." With my anxiety growing with every goodbye, my moms hugged me. They both let go and said loud enough for everyone to hear, "We would have been your mommy's. You should have stayed."

I had to snap out of it, quickly. I didn't want to hear what Brandon had to say. I couldn't.

Brandon took his headphones off and began to walk towards me. I, however, dodged him swiftly and left his room. Behind, I could hear him call my name but it was too late. I was already violently knocking on my mom's door.

Mariana's, Jesus's, and Brandon's door all opened. Each Foster standing in the hallway, looking at me. Stef answered, dressed in her uniform. Behind her, I saw Lena sitting on the bed with a laptop and book placed beside her.

Before Stef or Lena had a chance to ask me why I was crying, I blurted out everything I needed to say. "I know that you don't want me but I can't leave here. I can't." I turned back around to look at Brandon. I saw a smile grow upon his face as he walked back into his room. The song he first played for me could be heard throughout the house. I looked around at the rest of the Fosters and I just knew that those stupid stars were mocking me for being so weak.


	14. Chapter 14

Hi guys! ok im so sorry ive been sick, like really sick the last couple of days and then i started feeling better and my laptop broke. im writing this on my ipad so excuse the mistakes if there are any! love you all!

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I heard it. I heard it from down the hall. I heard it through the door. I heard over my piano as I played 'Callie's song'. She just told my moms she loved me. I got that feeling again. The happiness and sadness and confusion. This time, there was no anger. I was scared, however. I was scared of what was to come. Callie was going to stay with us. At least, that's what I repeated in my head countless times as my fingers fell into autopilot over the ivory and black keys.

The piano made sense to me. It was probably the only thing that ever will. Unlike Callie, a piano was easy to read. I knew which one of the 88 keys made what note. I knew everything down to the pedal. With everything going on around me, I needed to get lost in something. Something, that only I understood.

I continued to play the song but I found myself singing a different one. Just an old song, one that my dad used to sing to while he cooked breakfast on the weekends. I could only remember a few lines. "Was she told when she was young that pain would lead to pleasure?" I couldn't for the life of me remember the name of that song or even another line from that song. All I could remember was the grease sizzling in the frying pan and the sound of the fridge opening and closing as my dad gathered the eggs, fruit and orange juice.

A flashback came to me.

I felt the pull on my shoulder and groaned. "Five more minutes, mom. Ill be up before school starts, I promise." I flipped my pillow over to lay my head upon the cooler side. Before I was able to drift off again, there was another tug on my shoulder.

"Brandon, honey, there has been an accident. I need you to get clothes for tomorrow and a toothbrush. Don't worry about anything, we will explain in the car."

I fell into the backseat. Everything around me was pitch black, except for the clock on the dash that read 3:51. It was too early.

"Ok kids, we are going to drop you off at mikes for the night. Lena's aunt had a stroke last night. She is have complications with her breathing, too. It will just be for one night."

I put my head on the glass window. My twin siblings didn't say anything, afraid if they did it would become an altercation. I didn't really mind. I mean, maybe I did a little. My dads house was my dads house. This is the first night they would be over. I let it go though. I think about my great aunt. She always smelled like smoke, but it wasn't a bad kind of smoke. She always had ice cream for us whenever we visited, offering to scoop it for us, even when she was just shy of 90 years old. Linda, my great aunt, was the one who bought me those plastic stars that I had just hung up on my ceiling last week. She loves stars. Every time we visited, she would get us a bowl of chocolate ice cream and sit on her from porch. If it was a clear night, she would point up to the stars and tell us about all the constellations she could remember. I guess her husband liked to study them back when he was alive and they were just merely dating.

The three of us slept on the couch in the living room. I had my own bed but the twins were still young, I wanted to make sure that they were comfortable.

The next morning, you could hear my dad singing away in the kitchen, just like he did every Saturday morning during our long custody split. "Was she told when she was young that pain would lead to pleasure?" He noticed my siblings and I sitting at the dining room table. He danced around. My dad gave Jesus and I high fives as he scooped scrabbled eggs onto our empty plates. He kissed the top of Mariana's head as he sang, "Did she understand it when they said that a man must break his back to earn his day of leisure?" This was the first and last time the twins ever stayed over my dads. Looking back, I don't think I would mind it so much if they stayed there again sometime.

Now, back in my room, my hands played over the keys louder and louder. Suddenly, I heard Jude yelling over my music. I slowly and reluctantly walked to the door, turning the small handle and returning to the hallway where my entire family and Callie still stood.

Callie sat against the wall, my mom on the ground beside her, holding her tight. Mariana was close to crying as I saw Jesus hold her even tighter.

Jude was yelling. You couldn't make it out over his constant sobbing but there were harsh words hidden beneath. Harsh words that I would never dare say to Mariana.

"What's going on?" I ask nervously, my voice shaking over every word that pass through my chattering teeth.

The look in Jude's eyes when he turned towards me was enough to tear a family apart. He has so much hurt and disappoint and anger clouded over in those eyes. I slowly looked at Callie then back to Jude. "You. You did this. We have to go live with the Alberticus' now because you couldn't just stay away from my sister and mind your own business." Jude turned on his heels and walked into his room, slamming the door shut behind him. The entire house shook.

The minute the door shut, Jude opened it again. He was shaking and had a look of regret in his eyes, one that told me he feared more than he let on. "I-I'm sorry I didn't mean to slam it please don't hurt me. I won't do it again."

Jude fell to the ground and immediately started sobbing. Mariana fell into her twin brother, crying even harder than before. So many events were taking place in this hallway in such a small period of time, I couldn't keep up. From her spot on the floor, my mom looked up to Lena and quickly rushed to Jude's side. "No sweetheart no one is going to hurt you." She walked Jude into his room and that was the last time we saw Jude for the night.

In the moment of silence that was casted upon us, I took the opportunity to talk. "Is it true? Are you sending them away because of me? Because I have feelings for Callie?"

Lena stood in her doorway. Torn between right and wrong. Love and hate. Family and strangers. "Now, we didn't say that. We need to talk about this later on."

I saw Callie's body fall lifelessly from the sitting position she was in to the floor. Before I saw her eyes roll back, she managed to huff out, "I'll leave. Don't put Jude into another home. He has been tortured, abandoned, neglected, and starved. I will leave just keep him safe."

I cry. I cry for Callie. I cry for Jude. I cry for their mom. Their dad. My great aunt. I cry for everybody. I don't know how anyone could hurt a kid like Jude, he was something special. The Jacobs were special. Finally, I cried for my moms who were in a position that was a lose lose. No one was going to be a winner in this game.

I remember that morning at breakfast again. Mariana had asked a question, throwing my father and I off guard, "Mike , I know that you're not my real dad or even my adopted one for that matter, but do you think if I ever needed a dad, I could come to you?" I swear I heard Jesus mumble a, " Me too" but I couldn't hear anything.

All I heard was the sizzling of that grease, the fridge opening and closing, and my dad singing his morning song. "Is there anybody going to listen to my story, all about the girl who came to stay? She's the kind of girl you want so much, it makes you sorry. Still, you don't regret a single day. Ah, girl, girl. When I think of all the times I've tried so hard to leave her, she will turn to me and start to cry. And she promises the earth to me and I believe her. After all these times I don't know why. Ah, girl, girl."

My dad never did answer Mariana's question that morning. I think I would have liked to hear what he would have said. I hope he would have said yes, without missing a beat, because Mariana deserved it. It makes me proud to think that my dad had enough fatherly love for three kids, two of which were his ex wife's. If he could do that, my moms could find a way to do the same with Callie and Jude, right?

I prayed to the gods, the god. I prayed to anything i could think of. I even prayed to the real stars that everything was going to be ok as I sang Callie that song, right there in that hallway. This was Callie's new song, it was our song. Because I could never write her something so beautiful to tell her how much I loved her.

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Song : Girl - The Beatles. !remember this chapter, it will be referenced in quite a few chapters coming up! Enjoy, lovelies!


	15. Chapter 15

I knew where my mind should have been. I should have been focusing all of my attention on the people at this table, in this house. But, I wasn't focusing at all.

My mind was cycling its way through various thoughts, ideas and objects all around the room. I wondered when the faucet decided to start leaking, who was going to fix it, and how many drops had fallen since I sat down. I checked each corner of the room for spiderwebs or dust bunnies; there was none. I noticed how Lena crossed her left arm over her right while Stef crossed right over left. I saw that Jesus and Mariana didn't really look-alike, but they sure did act alike.

Finally, I noticed Brandon. I haven't had chance to speak with him since I told his mom's I loved him. Boy, did I love him.

This wasn't me. I never let my feelings get to me like this. Even when I was 'with Liam', I never opened up or even told him how much he had meant to me, but Brandon was different. Extremely different.

Across the table, I watched him chew his gum. Everything he did had a rhythm to it. It was one of the many things that made me fall in love with him.

"So, who is going to talk first?" Stef asked the four children at the kitchen table. Jude was still sleeping after the incident a few hours ago.

"I will." Brandon pushed the kitchen stool behind him as he stood up to talk. "I think Callie is absolutely, hands-down, the most beautiful girl I've ever seen." He paused for a second to smile at me. "I think she needs to hear it every once in a while too. Well, after the park incident, we talked about her mom for a bit. Neither of us could sleep so we just ate some ice cream and talked. I told her she was beautiful." I tried to hold in the giggle over the little white lie. I remembered back to the night where I almost kissed him while we were laying in his bed, but I chickened out.

"And then what happened, Callie?" Lena asked, unfolding then folding her arms again. She was clearly nervous.

"Brandon told me that he thought I was beautiful. This was the first time I had heard that since my mother had passed, well aside from my pushy foster fathers and Liam. Anyway, I got caught up in the moment of feeling wanted and I tried to kiss him."

Mariana let out a tiny squeak of excitement beside me. "Before I did, he stopped me. I was glad that he did too. I knew that it would ruin everything if I let myself kiss him. He told me he wanted to take everything slow and maybe try going on a date. Then, I found out that he knew about the other family and never told me. We got into a fight over it. Finally, we made up and our feelings just kind of surfaced."

Brandon subtly winked at me and sent me a reassuring smile. It made me believe that maybe everything would be ok, but only for a split second. Lena pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Have you two ever hooked up?" Stef's eyes wandered around the room. Jesus threw his hands up in defense, everyone was uncomfortable.

"Sex, no." Brandon interrupted. Not telling a lie, but not telling the whole true. It was another one of Brandon's quirks that drove me crazy. In a good way, of course.

"Okay, well I suppose there are two options here. The first is Callie can stay here with Jude. You both will be adopted within the month. If you choose to stay, whatever is going on between the two of you will need to end and there will be strict rules set for you both."

"What's the other option?" Brandon asked.

"The second option is that we talk to Bill. We won't tell him about the two of you. You and Jude can go live in New Hampshire. If you decided to leave, you and Brandon can attempt a long distance relationship."

Just shy of seventeen and I was already making a decision that not only would permanently effect my life, but my brother's as well. I didn't want to have to decide, I wish that someone would do it for me. No matter what I picked, I would be wrong.

Over the course of the silence, I thought about both of my options. Instead of picking one, I decided that I would make my own.

"Can you adopt Jude? I will go to the Alberticus'"

Again, Mariana squealed across the room, turning my life into her own personal romantic comedy. Jesus ran both his hands through his wild hair, leaving them to hold his neck in anticipation. Stef wrapped her arm around Lena's waist and Lena closed her eyes to drift off anywhere but here.

Brandon stood there, afraid to walk towards me, but needing to be closer. "You would do that for me?" He was getting choked up. It was kind of cute.

"For us, yes. I would."

"Are you sure, Callie? I mean I love you and I want you to be happy. This is a big step to make."

Was I really ready to start walking?


	16. Chapter 16

My friends...trust me when I say that we are no where near the end with this story!

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Three days after the meeting in the kitchen, I found myself packing Callie's belongings into the backseat of Bill's car. It was hard to even look at her. I knew deep down that I should just take her bags right out of that car. I knew that I should have spoken up and told her that I wasn't worth it. Unfortunately, I couldn't bring myself not to be selfish.

I stood a few feet behind, taking in the moment I wanted nothing to do with. Bill was exchanging paperwork with my moms. Lena had her arm wrapped loosely around my mom's waist. Their backs were to me but I'm sure the hurt could be seen in their eyes. Mariana was sitting on the steps with her head in her hands. Jesus was holding Lexi, pain evident in his face as well. Jude was staring up to the window of Callie and Mariana's room.

Benton, New Hampshire. Population : 364 ; soon to be 365. Callie was going to be merely a 47 and a half hour drive away. Simply 3055 miles. I had looked up everything about the small town last night. Callie and I were going to try to make this work as best as we could.

Finally, I saw Callie walk out of the house. She looked beautiful, even just for a plane ride. It was funny how every time I looked at her, it was like the first time.

She slowly made her way over to me. Her ams were folded over her chest and she was wearing that cream colored sweater I loved. I thought of so many things when I looked at her. I thought of glass. Beautiful, sharp, fragile. I thought of everything she had been through. Headstrong, stubborn, a fighter. I wanted her to stay more than anything but I knew that she would do just fine on her own.

"Bye." It was just one word that fell off her tongue, but it held so much more than that. She was slowly putting up her walls again. She leaned into me, resting her head upon my chest. I kissed the top of her head and tried to take in this last moment we had together. Her hair smelled like lemons and her tears stained my shirt. I hated this.

"You don't have to go." My voice cracked as I silently begged in her ear.

"No, I can't stay. I'm not doing this for just us, Brandon. I'm doing this for him too." We looked over at Jude, kicking rocks in the driveway.

"I know, I know." I ran my hand up and down her back, feeling her shiver ever so slightly in my arms. This was real, this was happening.

Right before Callie got into the front seat of the car, I kissed her. I kissed her in front of Bill and my entire family. I kissed her like this was the last time I would see her because, honestly, I wasn't sure if I would ever have the pleasure of seeing her again. I put so much emotion into that single kiss. When we finally pulled apart, she looked at me with tear stricken eyes.

"I love you, Callie. I always will, so come back home someday."

"I love you." She replied before saying goodbye to the rest of the family once more. She thanked my moms and laid out rules for Jude, hugging him longer than the rest of us. Then, she hopped in the car and took off down the road.

The love of my life just left for the east coast.

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The rest of the afternoon went by in a daze. Everyone stayed in their respected rooms. I managed to do a load of laundry, the rest of my history homework, take a shower and practice piano. My mind never stopped thinking of Callie.

Time differences were hard. I didn't want to call her for fear of catching her at a bad time. When my phone finally lit up with Callie's picture, my nerves calmed and I answered immediately.

"Hey, Callie."

"Hi Brandon, sorry it took me a while to call. I'm just trying to get settled." Over the phone, she seemed distant - like her mind was wandering to other things. "How is Jude?"

"He's okay. It's going to be a hard transition, but he is going to get through this. We are all going to get though this. "

"Okay, well I just wanted to call and check in."

"I love you Callie. Always." The line went dead and I tossed the phone to the floor. If this is how bad it was after only a few hours, how was it going to be months from now?

I stared at the ceiling until darkness enveloped me. The only light came from the moon through the window and the stars above my bed. Nothing felt right.

I stood up on my bed and ripped down 25 pieces of star shaped plastic. I left one up. Just for Callie.


	17. Chapter 17

Hi everyone! I came to the conclusion that I definitely do not give my readers enough attention! So from now on, you ask for it , I will do my best to do it! I will also be thanking a few before or after each chapter so keep your eyes out.

Now I know that a lot of you want Callie to go back to the fosters house but it might take some time. Please don't give up on this story. Writing is my passion and I want to discuss what life for both of them is like when they are apart from one another. It's kind of a challenge for me in a way.

By the way my Private message tab has been pretty empty lately. I would love to make friends with some of my readers and fellow writers With that being said, thank you all for sticking through with this story. This is absolutely hands down my favorite chapter. Better things to come. Enjoy your day! Xoxo

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Looking around my room, I hated everything I saw. The walls were painted gray. It was probably the only thing I liked about it. It was different but it was nice. Besides the gray, everything was pink. A pink quilt was folded on top of a pink ottoman at the base of my king sized bed. The bed was far too big for me to sleep in alone. It was covered in pink sheets, a pink comforter, and a set of pink throw pillows. There was a chandelier and a giant vanity. The room reminded me of Mariana. It would have been perfect for her. For me, not so much.

I took the clothes out of my bag. Walking over to the walk in closet, I nearly tripped over the plush rug in the center of my new, oversized room. Luckily, as I fell, I caught myself on the dresser.

I watched the blood drip from my fresh new cut onto the ground. I had only been here for a few hours and I was already making a mess of everything.

There was a bathroom that attached to my room. I looked in the medicine cabinets till I found a band aid. Downstairs, Lisa called for me. "Callie, dinner is ready!"

From the outside, my new 'home' didn't look very big at all. Inside, however, it seemed to almost be endless. I sat at the giant table with Lisa on one end and Matt on the other. It was uncomfortable having to consider them my new mom and dad.

At the foster house, I discovered one thing. Lena was an amazing cook. Even with her ability to find her way around the kitchen, it didn't compare to Lisa's cooking.

We had a three course meal to celebrate the adoption. I had discovered that Matt and Lisa were vegans so everything was specially made. Lisa served us wine and champagne, allowing me to have a glass or two to celebrate. I helped carry out trays that had fruit, stuffed mushrooms and biscotti with hummus. Next, we set out two different types of salad, seasoned asparagus and sesame tofu with rice. We ate in silence. For dessert, Lisa prepared a vegan blackberry lemon lavender cheesecake made from coconut milk. I didn't like the taste but I ate it to make her happy.

When the table was cleared of the dishes, Matt retreated to his room to give us 'mother-daughter' bonding time. I offered to help with the dishes, it was the least that I could do.

I saw the syringe sitting at the bottom of the sink. "What's that for?" This was not my first time in a house with drugs. I know exactly what it was for. Lisa grabbed the syringe, ran it under hot water and threw it into the closest drawer she could reach.

"I um.." She paused for a moment, her face turning a bright red. She had both her hands placed firmly at the edge of the sink, holding herself steady. "HIV. I found out last year. It's why I can't get pregnant."

I wasn't sure if I really believed her story but part of me did feel bad if it was true. We cleaned the dessert plates and put them back into the cabinets. "That boy is special, isn't he?"

"Jude?"

"No, the boy you are seeing. It's love isn't it?"

I felt the ache in my heart. Deep down, I knew that this ache was always going to be there. As long as I was away from him, I wasn't going to ever be the same. "Yes, it is definitely love. I am definitely in love." I put the last cup away and gave her a weak smile. "Well, it's been a long night, I think I am going to head off to bed. Night."

Before I made it to the base of the stairs, I heard her call out, "Do you maybe want to watch a movie before you go? I have popcorn in the pantry." She walked over to the storage space and found a box of popcorn. "Bill told me your favorite movie was The Wizard of Oz so I went out and picked up a copy after work the other day."

As much as I wanted to just shake my head no and hide away in my new bedroom, I couldn't. She was trying harder than most of my previous foster mothers had and I couldn't let that go unnoticed.

We sat through the movie with our popcorn and vegan chocolate ice cream. We created an oasis of blankets and pillows on the couch to snuggle into after a long day of flying and cooking and moving and meeting and teaching and figure out how everything went from good to bad.

We watched the scene with the poppy field and I tried not to think about Brandon but it was no use. Finally, it came to my favorite part. Just like every time I watched the movie, I recited outloud my favorite line by the wizard himself.

"You, my friend, are a victim of disorganized thinking. You are under the unfortunate impression that just because you run away you have no courage ; you're confusing courage with wisdom." I looked at my new 'mom' who was smiling sympathetically in my direction.

After the movie and an exchanging of uncomfortable good nights, I crawled into the bed of pink cotton sheets. My mind processed through thoughts of Brandon for a few minutes before I drifted off to a gentle sleep.

My internal clock woke me up at 3, for the nights I went to see Brandon. For a minute, I forgot where I was but then it all came back to me. It took me a while to hear the yelling. It seemed to be all one sided, mainly Matt's. I heard the names that I was once called by Liam and foster fathers of the past. Ugly, prude, worthless, disgraceful. I heard bang after bang after bang.

I figured it out. The one thing that was wrong with this home. Domestic violence. I had been in plenty of these types of homes before, but never with a mother I had sort of liked. I squeezed my eyes shut and hummed the tune of 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' over the banging, screaming, cussing and hatred.


	18. Chapter 18

Since Callie left last week, I've found myself get sick everyday. Not physically, but mentally. My moms want me to start going to a therapist to talk about things. Everyone in the house thinks that I am depressed. I'm not depressed, I just miss her.

I've been wearing the same clothes for three days straight. I haven't showered yet either, I just don't have the energy. All I can do is lay in my room with the door locked and my lights off.

I think my moms knew something was wrong two days ago. My eyes were glued to the clock but I heard them knocking on my door, pleading with me to come out for dinner. They even begged me to at least open the door. They did that for twenty one minutes before they needed to move on with their lives.

Last night, I stood at the top of that stairs and heard the two in the living room talking about me. Lena thinks that I have something called adjustment disorder. My mom thinks I have misophonia. I wasn't quite sure what either of these were so on one of my sleepless nights, I decided to do a little research. Adjustment disorder is the inability to cope with a major life event. Callie leaving was a major event that I couldn't bring myself to adjust to. Deep down, I agreed with my mom, I think I was a misophonic. Apparently, you can learn to have hatred or disgust for a certain sound.

Ever since I watched Callie drive away, I haven't been able to even look at my piano. I skipped my lessons and I eventually through all of my sheet music out. Finally, my keyboard and the guitar that Callie left behind found its way to our attic. I couldn't stand to look at it. The recoil of the keys and the vibration of the strings drove me insane. It made me think of Callie and how she would get the easiest chords wrong. Music lost its appeal to me. I guess Callie was my music. There was always an eerie silence since she walked away.

We were still together but we talked less and less everyday that passed. It eats away at me. I always picture how differently things could have went with us. Under my bed, in an envelope, in a shoebox, there was money stored away. Two hundred and seventy three dollars and fifty two cents. I don't think I will ever get to Callie at the rate I was going.

I was buried beneath my blankets when there was a knock on the door. Whoever it was didn't bother to wait for an approval, they just walked in and sat at the end of my bed.

"Come on Brandon." Jesus sighed as he looked around the room. I didn't want to move from my bed. I couldn't move from my bed.

Suddenly, my phone lit up on my night stand. I quickly threw my covers off and lunged for my cell phone, only to discover that it was my dad.

Jesus watched me from the corner of his eye. "Brandon, this is pathetic."

"She's gone Jesus, she's not coming back."

"You know what, Brandon? This is beyond pathetic." He stood up from my bed. " You've been so wrapped up in Callie and self contained that you don't listen to anything your family says to you."

"That is not true." I spit back but I knew it was true.

"Brandon." He paused to sit back down on the bed. "Where is Lexi right now?"

"At home or out with Mariana. How am I suppose to know that?" I really wish he would have just gotten up and left my room.

"God, all Mariana and I have been talking about for the past few days is how Lexi left the US. I know what you're going through, okay? My girlfriend moved out of the country and can't come back. At least I am sane enough to listen to my family when they're upset too. Grow up."

At some point, Lena had found her way to my room, slowly putting a hand on Jesus' shoulder. "I think that's enough Jesus." They both left my room without saying another word.

My phone lit up again. I took my time reaching for it this time, not bothering to get my hopes up. To my surprise, I had one message from Callie. I felt myself smile for the first time in a week.

Hey B. I miss you but don't worry about me. I'm happy. Really, really happy.

Maybe I did need therapy.

* * *

I want to thank my reader ae for reviewing every page and even sending me a message about how this story cheered her up on a bad day :) But on a serious note. If you're showing signs of being depressed, please ask someone for help. Anyone. I was there too and I know that scariest part is asking but it changes lives. Hope you enjoy. I have the next chapter written and I'm in love with it, but I am going to wait a few days just to give everyone a chance to read this one. Thanks again!


	19. Chapter 19

"You didn't pay the bill on time you piece of trash." Bang. Bang. Bang.

I closed my eyes tighter. Matt was taking a lot out on Lisa today. Releasing his anger like she was his own personal punching bag. He was nice to me, but once I was asleep, you could hear him at the other end of the house raising holy hell.

Many things have happened since I moved here last week. I started a new school that wasn't terrible, I mainly kept to myself. I went out to find a job yesterday. This record in the store was hiring so I went in to apply. They took one look at me and asked if I could start working right then. Lisa and I have been getting a lot closer. We recently discovered that we came from similar backgrounds.

I never felt like I was in danger when I was in the house. I knew that Matt's violent life would never entangle itself with mine. Most nights, I wanted to call the cops. I wanted to see Matt, the man of the law, be taken away for laying a hand on my new mom. Unfortunately, I knew what that meant. It meant I would be separated from Lisa and I really didn't want that to happen.

"You deserve everything you got from those other guys." Silence. There was always silence on Lisa's side and it broke my heart.

It was two am when I decided to call Brandon. His voice would calm me down. It rang four times before I heard his voice on the other end.

"Callie." It was a little louder than a whisper.

"B, I need you to just talk to me."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm okay." I lied. He probably knew I was lying too. I couldn't keep anything from him. "I just miss you, that's all. I wanted to hear your voice."

We talked for a little over an hour about nothing and everything. I told him about my new co workers and he told me about how his therapist diagnosed him with clinical depression. I asked about Jude and was surprised to hear that he received the lead in his school play. The Fosters seemed like a world apart.

"I love you Brandon. You're the only one I've ever loved and you will be the only one I will ever love." I got it off my chest but it was still on my mind.

"Callie?"

"Yeah?"

Just then, I drifted into Brandon's voice as he began to sing me an old Beatles song that my mom used to sing to me before bed. "She's the kind of girl you want so much it makes you sorry. Still you don't regret a single day."

I forgot everything. I forgot about the abuse down the hall. I forgot about the pushy customers asking if I had a certain band on vinyl. I forgot about the distance. I forgot every bad thing because all I wanted to remember was Brandon.

"Happy one month, Callie." I don't know how I ever lived without this boy.

Down the hall, Matt's voice escalated. "You're never going to be loved." That stuck me harder than anything he has ever said to her. I said goodbye to Brandon, telling him I loved him, and retrieved my new laptop off the desk.

I've runaway before. The only difference this time was that I was going to bring a parent with me. I wasn't going to leave Lisa here alone.

* * *

Wow. Okay I'm sorry guys. Things have just been crazy with moving back into school and everyone. College is so stressful. But anyway I hope you like this chapter. This one and the next chapter I already have written are going to be fillers. But I want to remind everyone that this is a story and a lot of things need to change in order for certain plots to move that way the author wants. With that, I want to bring up how Callie never calls the cops on Matt. I know that it would be the logical thing to do but trust me on this. But if you know someone who is like Lisa...please tell someone. You can change someone's story!

Song : girl-Beatles


	20. Chapter 20

Here is the run down on my family. My mom is a go getter. Everything you want in life needs to be earned. She believes in never giving or taking more than you have to. Lena is the opposite. My second mom believes that one should be realistic and always has to weigh out her options before making an important decision. Jude was still too young to have much character identification but I could already tell he gets anxiety when dealing with things that his pre-teen self can handle. Jesus is like my mom. He likes to do what needs to be done; nothing more, nothing less. Mariana was the perfect mix between my moms. She was able to be the center of attention at any party, but she knew what the line of right and wrong were. While she tended to mostly do wrong, she at least acknowledged this. That is why I chose my sister to go to the jewelry store with me.

I just decided that I wanted to spoil my girlfriend and send her a gift in New Hampshire. On the way to the store, Mariana kept spitting out ideas.

"What about a bracelet?"

"I don't know, she's not much of a jewelry person. I will be luck if she wears what I give her."

"Earrings?"

All of there suggestions had already coursed through my mind already. "She never got them pierced."

"Brandon, if you know she doesn't wear jewelry why do you insist on going there to get a gift? Why not just get her a camera or something?" I stayed silent. "Brandon?" It finally dawned on her. "A...a ring?"

I slowly shook my head yes, waiting for a response. "Brandon, you're seventeen years old and you've been dating for what, two months? You can't just ask the girl to marry you, she lives in a different state."

"Have you ever heard of a distance ring?"

"A what?"

"A distance ring. It's basically a ring that you buy for someone you love who lives far away from you. What you do is buy a ring and engrave the number of miles you are from each other."

Mariana thought about it for a minute. I could tell that she was suddenly intrigued. "So, you're going to engrave the distance between you and Callie?"

"No, actually, I am going to engrave the number 65." Pulling into the parking lot, I shut off the car and relaxed into my seat to finish explaining my plan. "Aldebaran is 65 light years away. It's one of the brightest stars and Aldebaran literally translates to 'the follower.' It makes me think of Callie because I would follow her anywhere if I could. Anyway, this star follows a star called Pleiades which translates to seven sisters. She's our missing piece. Our seventh member. We need her."

Without waiting for Mariana, I exited the car and went into the store. I looked into the glass display cases, trying to find a band that screamed 'Callie.'

"What about this one?" I turned to Mariana to see what ring she was pointing out. Even at first glance, I could tell that it was the one. It was 'Callie.'

Mariana had found a 14k white gold band. It was thin with 22 diamonds lining the top. To my surprise, it was only $180, falling perfectly into my price budget.

"That's the one." I muttered before finding a clerk to check us out.

Now, she would also know that no matter the distance, she would always be my star.

* * *

Hey guys bare with my we are almost at the end! BUT I AM EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE...that the reason I haven't been updating as often is because I am in the mist of writing a sequel to the story!


	21. Chapter 21

The key slid smoothly through the hole. I balanced a small box in my left arm as I used my right hand to wiggle the door open. Lisa and I set down our first stack of boxes on the freshly polished floor. We finally had a chance to breathe freely.

I sat on the bottom step of the carpeted, spiral staircase, thinking back to just two days ago. I sat Lisa down in my bedroom while Matt was away on business. While she sat on my bed, I paced back and forth, imagining all the possible ways this scenario could play out.

I reached over and handed my mom a stack of papers. "What is this?" She asked, flipping through the first few pages. Her eyes grew and shrunk as she realized what the images and words scrolled across the page meant.

"The apartment I sort of bought in your name." I avoided eye contact. It was a risky situation to be putting us in but it needed to be done. This was not my first crime so I wasn't too nervous.

"Callie, you can't leave us." She looked down at the papers. "Even if Matt and I agreed to let you get your own apartment, it would not be on the other side of the country." Lisa shook her head and handed the papers back to me.

"I'm not going alone Lisa, you're coming with me. We're leaving tonight before Matt comes home."

"I...I don't understand."

I handed Lisa back the papers and sat down beside her. "This apartment is five streets away from the Foster's. They told me that it was renting so I did some research. It's only a one bedroom but it fell into the price budget I had. Brandon and I worked some stuff out and Lena and Stef sent me money for the first and last month rent. We can make a one bedroom work, Lisa."  
The more I talked about the adventure we were headed for, the more excited and nervous I became. It was as if a new Callie had somehow grown throughout this experience. It seemed like I was growing up. Finally.

"What about Matt?" Tears were brimming her eyes.

"We can do this without him, mom."

It was as if 'mom' was all she really needed to hear before convincing herself that this was the right thing to do for not only herself but for her new daughter. Right there, Lisa rolled up her sleeves. Bruises covered her arms and you could see where the syringes were poked into her pale, delicate skin.

"He did this." She muttered before rolling down her sleeves once more. Instead of answering, I handed her a box from under my bed and walked out of the room, finally allowing the tears to fall.

Now, here we were, in our new home. Mother and Daughter. Just the two of us. It was small and not the best looking apartment in the area, but it was enough. My plan had pulled through and I was more than ready to carry on with my life. Everything seemed to be falling into place.

Luckily, it was only Friday afternoon. Come tomorrow morning, I would be ready to return back to my old life. We were going to attend Lena and Stef's wedding. I was finally going to see Brandon after months of being apart. Finally, I was having things my way.


End file.
